Story Teller
by Animyth
Summary: Long awaited Sequel to 'Protecting Rin'. Rin meets a new person and suddenly is in a place shes never been before. All alone and afraid, how will Rin get back to Sesshoumaru and her new home?
1. Story Teller Opening the Book

A/N:  
Ano. . . Konichiwa Min'na! How is everyone? Well, I hope your all well an' kickin'! See, I have a new chap. Up and you wanna read it you'll have to be, well, alive ^_^ ne way! I just got the flu shot at. . .::checks watch:: 9:00am! Jeez, I wake up and get shoved into the doctors office. ::shrugs:: ne who! Yup! Another chap! Actually, this is the first chapter! ^_~'. The last one was just the intro to, you know, get you situated to the story line and what not. If you are still reading this and like it, THANKS SOOO MUCH! Cuz' I was pretty sure it was gunna suck! =P But, maybe that's because my last one got lots of good reviews. . .Hmmm. . .ah well! I just hope you enjoy it!  
  
Oh and incase you need it! ~*~*~* is for things like remembering  
  
* are used for thoughts like *I wonder if we have any doughnuts left. ..*  
  
& - are used for italics such as -stupid-, -annoying- brother. . . And until I can figure this thing out that's the way its gunna be! Sorry to be a bother ^_^ Ja!  
  
Story Teller (Tale I)  
  
Rin was sitting under a tree in one of the numerous gardens that spotted the land surrounding the mansion. All sorts of flowers like Gazania, Chrysanthemum, Alyssum, along with many she couldn't remember the names to.  
  
The large Sakura tree was in full bloom and the sun shone brightly through its scattered leaves and freshly opening blossoms. The cool spring breeze tussled Rin's hair as she wove another ring of flowers. She sighed an laid the finished piece of work next to its siblings.  
  
Rin was bored, -again-. She'd been getting bored a lot lately. I mean, if you stay in one place for five years your going to run out of things to do eventually. Laying back against the tree's trunk she closed her eyes and watched the orangish-red color of her lids , change to dark blue or black when the wind blew branches in front of her, creating shadows. Yawning, Rin rolled to her side and over again till she was lying on her back staring at the clouds.  
  
She was lonely too. Sure she had Naoki and some of the worker's children, but she really was getting lonely. She hadn't seen another human in. . .*It's been what? Two and a half years? Not since Sesshoumaru-sama took me with him on one of the few trips I'm allowed to go on when we met his brother. What was his name? Oh, right, it was Inu. . .Inuyasha, that's It, and his er-his mate and their kid too. That's when Inuyasha told Sesshoumaru-sama that he was leaving to . . . go some where. I can't remember.*  
  
She opted that it didn't really matter -how- long ago it was since she last spoke to or let alone seen another human. She did wonder, however, how Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were related. Sesshoumaru was a Youkai and, well, Inuyasha was. . . a human. She puzzled over this for a few minutes before she also lost interest in that subject. A few hours passed since breakfast and she wondered where Sesshoumaru was or what Naoki was doing. *She probably went back to sleep. . . *  
  
Yawning again, she went back to the tree and started tethering her rope of flowers and fixing them together to make yet another a ring.  
  
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Sesshoumaru took large gaits as he walked through his territory. He'd gone around it once last night and decided the go around again after he picked up a scent early this morning. He was slightly upset, ok, he was peeved. Either it be from a lower class Youkai meandering onto his land. *Poor fools. Coming on to my land. I pity their stupidity. . .* Or the fact that Jaken hadn't -shut-up- since they had started out this morning.  
  
He didn't show his growing ire towards the hideous (sly Jaken lovers. . .if u really do exist! ^_^ ), bothersome, stout, annoying, never ending chatter box which called itsself Jaken. But, every time he started talking about something that was completely pointless, which was almost always, Sesshoumaru would pick up a reasonably sized stone and chuck it at the pitiful youkai, silencing him for oh. . . five minutes.  
  
This went on for about three hours until Sesshoumaru caught a whiff of a particularly strong scented youkai. Not even telling Jaken or waiting for him, Sesshoumaru turned into his 'light orb form' and sped away to dispose of the trespasser, or perhaps he should thank them for getting him away from Jaken.  
  
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A soft nose poked Rin in the cheek and her eyes began to blearily open. Yawning and stretching she looked to her right and saw a small white bunny staring at her. She reached out her hand to pet it but it got frightened and scurried away. She watched it weave its way through the thick grass and into the woods. When the rabbit was gone from view Rin then noticed that she had fallen asleep some how and it was now mid afternoon. Rubbing her eyes she stood up and brushed off her shorts and shirt. Looking up to the sky she saw it was starting to turn a slight shade of pinkish- orange and decided she should probably start heading home.  
  
Going over to her little pile of flower rings, she picked them up and stretched one last time before starting on the fifteen minute walk towards the house.  
  
On her walk towards the mansion she took the time to take in the fresh spring scenery. It was absolutely perfect outside. The crisp cool air with a small breeze and the new green look to everything. Spring probably was Rin's favorite time of year. Looking to the sky again she realized that she had some time till she had to be home so she would take her time on this little walk.  
  
The little path she was on was very pretty. On each side of the dirt path, to the house, were large trees lining it along with a few berry bushes now and then. The wind played with the branches making the shadows shift and sway and it made the leaves rustle.  
  
Breathing in deeply she shut her eyes and walked like that for a few minutes. Just smelling, hearing, and feeling what was around her was great. Taking one last large intake of the cool breeze Rin opened her eyes. But, when she opened her eyes, she saw that she wasn't alone on this quaint little path any more. There was some one standing about eleven feet right in front of her and yet it was covered in shadow.  
  
Remembering the manners that were crushed into her that it wasn't polite to stare she began to ask who this person was. "Ano. . .Pardon me but, who-" she was cut of when the person slowly stepped forward. When it did, the shadows that once concealed it appeared to vanish with every step forward it made and the person seemed to take on its appearance with every uncovered piece of darkness. Rin thought it was like the person didn't even have an appearance before it came into the light. Like it was a shadow that just took on shape. Well, what ever it was, it creeped Rin out. "Ano. . ." was all Rin got out before the whole being was 'unmasked'.  
  
* What a lovely person! They're completely beautiful*, thought Rin. The person was in fact very beautiful. A tall slender woman with a flowing dress of pale green. Her hair was a golden brown that laid down on her back and her eyes a piercing green. Rin noticed that the woman had a large book tucked under her right arm. It was so large Rin thought it must be very heavy.  
  
"Ex-excuse me. My name is Rin, may I ask who you are?". The woman looked at Rin for a moment before she spoke in return. "I am Hanashite. But you may call me Hana if you wish." *Hanashite? That's an interesting name. It means. . .Storyteller? very strange*. Rin did think the name strange but the person seemed polite and had some sort of etiquette. "Its very nice to meet you Hana. Are you. . .?" Rin didn't know whether it was proper or not to ask if Hana was a Youkai or not. Her opinion was that it was like asking some one what their race was and thought it impolite. "No. I am not a Youkai. And it is also my pleasure to meet you as well Imoto. You see, I travel around a lot through these lands, a nomad of sorts, to tell a tale to all who will listen. I am a Hanashite, a storyteller."  
  
"Story. . .teller?" Rin knew what a storyteller was. Yes. Sesshoumaru had hired a few youkai and human alike to read wonderful stories about adventures and mythology and such when she was still little. She remembered how much she adored her story time before she was to be sent of to bed. Even Naoki would stay and listen and she and Rin would act out the story the next day and talk about how one day they were going to go on an adventure like that.  
  
The thought of it made Rin smile and she caught herself when she realized that she was just having Hana stand there. "I love stories." Said Rin. "I'm glad you like stories Rin. How would you like it if I read you mine?" asked Hana with a small smile. Rin smiled broadly and answered with "That sounds great!".  
  
Hana smiled again and for some reason that smile gave Rin the chills. Passing it off as just the wind or her imagination, Rin gave her full attention to this nomad storyteller. "Well Imoto-chan, we can't just sit here in the middle of a path. Lets go find a nice place to sit in that field over there." Hana pointed to the left side of the path were there was a small clearing. "Hai!" Rin said with a smile.  
  
They made their way off the path and into the small grass covered field. The sun was still high in the sky so Rin still had some time before she had to be home. Rin followed Hana till Hana came to a small flat bolder in the field. The bolder was surrounded by some smaller rock and pebbles so Rin brushed them away to make a comfortable place to sit.  
  
After Rin sat on the ground Hana heaved the huge book onto the bolder. When it landed with a thump some dirt puffed up from under the book and a dust cloud gathered at the top of the book. Rin now saw that the book was -very- old. Older than her by far. It's old burgundy cooler faded yet darker from age and the tiny little rips on the covers edges. The cover was made of leather and it did take a while for leather to wear down enough to be able to rip. There was no title on the front of spine of the huge book. It was completely blank.  
  
Hana caught Rin's questioning gaze at the book and explained why it was so big and old. "This book, the Hon no Hanashi, has been passed down through my kin for over one hundred and fifty years. Its very old and very much enchanted. Its been said that those who've heard the story soon find themselves having adventures like the one in this story. Though whether or not their adventures are good or bad I do not know. I haven't seen any of those I've read to since I've read to them. Its very disconcerting to know that I might never see those who I've read to again. But, its what my kin has been doing for many a time and who am I to stop tradition? And so, I read this story to all who wish to hear it, even if I'll never see them again. But, that's not the only reason why I still read this old decrepit book, it's also because this book is not only enchanted but cursed as well. If my kin do not read this book, myself and my children after me will be cursed to live with everyone's hatred of them and we will never again be the peaceful people we are now. I don't wish this upon any of my kind, so I read."  
  
Rin felt very melancholy after hearing Hana's long tale, that came out of no where, and felt sorry for Hana for never seeing the people she meets more than once. What's the point in meeting people if you don't ever see them again? But, not wanting to make Hana any more morbid than she already seemed, Rin told Hana that she would still like to hear the story and that she was thankful for her telling something about herself.  
  
Hana smiled again and again Rin got the chills. The kind that start from the very end of your spine and work its way up to the very top of your head, making the little hairs on your neck prickle so it makes you scrunch up your shoulders. Rin didn't know why she was getting the shivers from Hana. Hana seemed like such a nice person and she was kind and sweet even if she was a bit sad looking.  
  
Rin thought it was just her being weird.* Sesshoumaru-sama did say that humans go through a lot of pointless changes during their aging. Maybe I'm just going through one of those stages*. So Rin shrugged it off and watched as Hana opened the cover of the book.  
Leaning in to see the book better Rin saw that the first couple pages were blank. *Strange*. Hana flipped through the first page with text on it. "This was written by one of my ancestors long ago. They loved telling stories and eventually wrote a book (she gestured at the book) about all the grand stories they told people. But, people said the book was cursed because my ancestors were said to have used the wood from a cursed tree to make its pages. So, eventually people stopped wanting to hear their stories, too scared by the rumors about the book, and they were forced to turn to traveling to places where people knew not of its cursed origin. Eventually my kin were turned into nomads that traveled to tell the tales."  
  
Well, Rin didn't really want to know that but I guess it told her more about where the book came from and about Hana. Rin just nodded with lack of better things to say to that. Hana cleared her throat and began speaking again, "Ah yes, well, Imoto are you ready to hear my stories now? I'm sorry I took terribly long to tell about where the book came from and how it came to be. Its just that most people seem to want to know this before hand. Many people usually turn down the offer to hear the story afterward and I thought I would give you the choice as well."  
  
Rin pondered on this for a moment before she voiced her answer. "Hai! I would still like to hear the story." "All right." Hana smiled. "It shows that you are pure of heart. You show that is doesn't matter if something is cursed or enchanted to be pure and good. Only the pure of heart. . .and of spirit are allowed to hear this tale."  
  
Rin wasn't quiet sure of what Hana meant but she thought that what she said was a good thing. Hana spread her fingers out over the first pages of text and smoothed out the paper. The pages looked cool to the touch and Rin reached out to touch a page when Hana opened her mouth to speak.  
  
Rin's hand moved away from the page and she looked a bit dazed. It was as if Hana had said something to make Rin's hand move away but there was no sound that came from her. Rin came out of her daze and just stared at the book, not really sure what happened.  
  
Hana just looked at Rin, then at the book, and began to read.  
  
TBC! -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  
  
Little Dictionary:  
  
Konichiwa- "Hello!" (Usually used from afternoon till dusk)  
  
Min'na (-san)- Every one (-san makes it more polite I think)  
  
Sakura- Cherry blossoms or cherry tree  
  
Imoto (-Chan)- Younger sister (-Chan is a form of endearment)  
  
Hai- Yes  
  
Hon no Hanashi- Book of Tales; Stories; Rumor; News. (Hon =Book no =of Hanashi =etc.)  
  
Gomen (Nasai)- Sorry (With Nasai- I'm very Sorry)  
  
*Once again, all that came from my common knowledge. So, please don't get all mad because I got something wrong. Feel free to e-mail me if you want to correct me.  
  
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A/N: Well! That was fun, ne? Yup! First chap all done! Kind of cliff-hanger-ish at the end though. GOMEN! Lol. ::cough:: I hope min'na enjoyed this little chap. I finally got off my procrastinator butt and wrote some. My muse is still a little sleepy ::pokes muse:: ::muse falls over::. ::shrugs:: what can I do? The plot is still a little sketchy and I'm not really sure where this is going ^_~' heh. Who is this Hanashite? Why does she give Rin the creeps? Where in the hell is Sesshoumaru? (heh, about that. Sry that the Fluff mister hasn't been in here much yet. It's kind of more based on Rin. One of the mini-characters. Another reason why I thought I might not get reviews. Because people usually want to read about the major characters. U_U') Well, see you next time! I'll try and make it better next chap! JA~A!  
  
Notes: Oh! About 'the Hon no Hanashi' I think it kind of translates into 'the book of stories' or something like 'story from the book'.not quiet sure.heh heh. If you can tell me for sure that'd be great.  
  
Luv Min'na!  
  
-Animyth- 


	2. Story Teller Tale I

A/N:  
EGADS! Is it true? Has she really started to write the sequel? My gawd. . .what next? Perhaps it will start raining Bishies from the sky. Ahh. . .wouldn't that be nice, ne? Well, anyway! You guys miss me? Your all prolly P.O.ed at me for taking so flipping long. Well, look dude, I just started high school and dear gawd. Project after project! I mean, they are seriously trying to kill us off! Ahh! Heh, well yes, I finally came up w/ a plot and finally started writing! Its true its true! Spread the word! Lol. ^_^ yup yup! And I have to keep good mental health (Is taking Health class), and school, and friends. Yada yada! So, I really hope you guyz don't hate me now! ::wimper:: im sooo sorry! My plot muse has been seriously lacking. ::glares at muse:: "shame on you!" well, My writing style has kind of changed and I'll understand if you say it sux now or flame me on how crappy I've gotten. Heh heh heh. Cuz its prolly true. I've been reading to many fics and not writing enough. And with the new classes im taking @ school they kinda gave me a new writing style. More descriptive. I tried to have it kind of the way it used to be but its kind of hard. Oh, BTW- the fic is mostly based on Rin. (she's so cute ^_^). I don't think there will be any ROMANCE or anything. Probably lots of Waff though. Sap/Waff/Fluff/more fluff/More waff/etc. . . please review me! I need to know if im lacking or if im good. So, information flames are ok I guess, just no pointless ones like you suck because you spelled youkai wrong and stupid things like that. ::hug hug kiss kiss:: I hope I did well! Read and Review peh-le-uhs! =P  
  
Oh yeah! B4 I forget! ~*~*~* is for things like remembering are used for thoughts like *I wonder if we have any doughnuts left. ..* & - are used for italics such as -stupid-, -annoying- brother. . . And until I can figure this thing out thats the way its gunna be! Sorry to be a bother ^_^ Ja!  
  
Story Teller (Opening the Book)  
  
Rin snuggled closely to Sesshoumaru's fluffy boa. It had started raining that evening, and rain is usually accompanied by thunder. Another clap of lightning could be heard and she grasped his fluffy like it was a life line.  
  
Even though she was now at the age of thirteen, she is still the small child she always was inside. The sound of rain splattering the walls and windows, and the fires warm glowing light, soon had Rin fast asleep. Sesshoumaru held her to his side, stroking her back soothingly, like a father would do for their upset daughter.  
  
After the 'adventures' with Naraku and Yurai, Sesshoumaru thought it best to keep the young Rin at his estate, and has, for the past five years. His mind still may not be completely at ease with the thought of living "peacefully" with the -whole- human race, but after the things that have come to pass, he has gotten closer to the small girl (whose not really -that- small any more. . .) .  
  
When Naraku kidnapped Rin, Sesshoumaru finally understood part of the feelings he had when he felt like he had to protect her. When she was in trouble, he was always there. When she stumbled or tripped he was there to help her up. After Rin wasn't with him, when Yurai took her, he felt raged and unhappy. He understood that even if she was human, mortal, he did care for the little girl. Even if it was just slightly.  
  
*Rin had always been afraid of the thunder*, this thought brought the smallest of small smiles to his lips. "Foolish humans. . . " *Being afraid of such petty things. . .* He stroke her back a few more times before rapping his boa around her and got up. The rain had slowed and the thunder had ceased. He started leaving the room to go prepare for the nightly patrol of his land. But, before he went, he looked the room over. Checking to see if anything was out of place. Finding everything in order he saw that the fire was burning brightly and took one last glance at Rin before he made a swift exit through the shoji doors. He did, however, make sure the shoji didn't snap open of click loudly closed, when it slid on its rail, to make sure Rin wouldn't be awakened.  
  
Now, when ever he went out, she would always ask too many questions. Mostly about where he was going, what he was going to do, why he was doing it, when he was getting back, etc. And Sesshoumaru, being who he was, didn't take kindly to pointless questions, especially when they came in hordes. And with Rin, they -always- seemed to come in bulk. She puzzled him again, with all the sudden question asking. She always used to be very talkative, even for a young human, but all the questions were getting to be ridiculous. He casually filed it away in the back of his mind as something to do with human growth, and quickly walked towards the armory part of his mansion.  
  
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Back in the room, Rin was still snuggling deeply into the fluffy. So much so that her face was buried in it and she could barely breath. Pushing back some, she unconsciously decided that she'd rather just rap her arms around it instead of suffocating herself with the mass of fur. Besides, with it -and- the fire, she was getting kind of over heated.  
  
Over the past few years, while Sesshoumaru and the other youkai at the estate had stayed the same, Rin had changed in many ways. Be it her looks to her choice of food to the clothing she wore.  
  
She -had- gotten taller. She had grown about one an a half feet, but was still short of Sesshoumaru by about a two feet. So, yes, she still had to bend backwards to say anything to Sesshoumaru, which she did practically always (unless they were sitting of course). Also, her legs had gotten longer as well as her arms. Her face did get a bit elongated and lost a bit of its baby roundness. She still wore her hair in a one sided half way pony tail, which had grown out till it reached to about her bottom.  
  
Rin wore clothes that fitted her form better now, but she refused to wear one of those constricting girly things called a 'Kimono'. What she wore, instead of what Jaken -insisted- she wear, consisted of orange shorts that came to her mid thigh with yellow trimming, and a checkered orange and yellow gi with little green loops every where (taken from parts of her old child-hood kimono).  
  
Jaken could go on an on about how 'Humans should wear clothes appropriate of their age' and rant about things like how she was 'such a nuisance!' and how she 'dishonors lord Sesshoumaru with such awful choice of clothing'.  
  
Thoughts like that pestered Rin, as she tried to get into a more comfortable position away from the heat, and made her frown. *Pfft. . .what would a stupid toad like him know about clothing any way? I mean, look at what he wears! What is that, a youkai monk outfit or something? Yada yada, that's all Jaken is good for, always complaining! Like his clothing is any better. . .* An evil thought crept into her mind about getting some red berries to make a dye with and then 'experimenting' with it on a certain youkai's 'monk' garbs. And with that dastardly idea in mind, Rin pulled the boa more snug around her, after she had squirmed her way into the less heated corner of the room, and drifted back to sleep with a tug of a smile at the corners of her mouth.  
  
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The next morning Rin awoke to the inviting smell of something wonderful and the sound of sizzling meat. Rubbing her eyes and taking a huge yawn, that took up her whole face, she got up and straightened her clothes. Smoothing out the last of the wrinkles in her top she slowly made her way across the expanses of the Sesshoumaru mansion. "More like a castle. . ." she mumbled ten minutes into her 'walk' to the other side of the 'house'.  
  
She bumped into a few worker youkai and they bowed their heads to her as she made her way to the kitchen. But before she decided to go directly to the kitchen she made a quick turn to her left and went down another hall, which also connected to the kitchen, but lead her past the workers quarters on her way there.  
  
Slightly more awake now she slowly slid the door open and crept across the wooden floor seemingly littered with workers still sleeping, probably having the night shift, and a few empty futons. Almost tripping over one occupant of a futon, who was slouched under the blankets, she muttered and apology and soon found her way to the far corner of the large room of the 'women's' workers quarters.  
  
Nudging a lump of seemingly nothing but blankets with her foot, she waited till she heard a low moan that the person was awake and knelt down. "Naoki, hey Naoki" Rin poked the sleeping fox youkai in the cheek. "Wake up you lazy kitsune" Rin hissed out under her breath, careful not to wake the other sleeping youkai. The workers didn't seem to friendly with her, except her friend Naoki here. They all seemed to resent the fact that Sesshoumaru pampered a human child and let her stay with him.  
  
*~*~*~*~*Naoki, one of the more reasonable youkai, didn't care if Rin was a youkai, a human, or even a 'frog eating swamp monster'. Well at least that's what she said, and Rin believes her. Naoki was her friend since the day she came to live here with Sesshoumaru. When Rin first came here, this was a huge foreign palace to her. She had no friends, she knew no one, and she got lost a lot in such a large place.  
  
Sesshoumaru 'didn't have the time' to show her around, so he said "You'll have to figure out where to go on you own, Rin. Just make sure you know where all the main places are. Like the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.". That's all she would get out of him before he had to go run some errand, or have a meeting, or go kill something. . .  
  
And so she had gotten lost -again- one day when she had first arrived, maybe a week or two after. Sesshomaru, still in his stage of 'all humans are incompetent and moronic' (or something like that), had decided to assign a worker to help Rin get aquatinted with her new living space.  
  
Enter Naoki. When Rin first met Naoki she was shy, mainly because the other workers gave her weird looks and talked about her when they thought she wasn't listening. She thought Naoki would be the same, but soon found out her thoughts were false. The Kitsune and the human soon became fast friends. Naoki would show Rin around the palace and help her when she got lost. While Rin stole pastries, cookies, and cakes to eat, from the kitchen, while every one else thought they were asleep. One day, Naoki gave Rin a shiny metal whistle and said, "If you ever get lost or need me just use the whistle, ok?".  
  
The whistle soon became more than just a 'whistle' to Rin. It became a type of friendship binding, like a friendship bracelet. And so, Naoki, the lazy Kitsune with short blazing-red hair and a fuzzy orange-tan tail, and Rin remained friends for about five years now. ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Again Rin continuously poked the blob of blankets until red fuzz could be seen at the top of the futon. "Naoki! Naoki! Come on, hurry up and wake up before breakfast gets cold, or worse, Jaken throws it out!" Rin hoarsely whispered into the now visible ear. Oh, and another change Rin underwent, speech. Yes, Rin soon dropped the third-person talk and soon began to develop her own sense of talking. She contracted most of it from the lump she was currently poking and the lessons Sesshoumaru said she needed to take while living here.  
  
The 'lessons' were tedious. They were subjects like, speech, kanji writing, spelling, etiquette. All the things Sesshoumaru forced her to learn and all the things Jaken would rant about how badly she was at. She would have to go to lessons five days out of the week, but they were short classes.  
  
Most of her teachers Sesshoumaru had hand chosen to teach her and what he considered worthy of staying in his home. She didn't really like the classes but she tried her best at it for Sesshoumaru and when he said she had improved or complimented her work (or as close to a compliment as he would get. Like a nod, or. . .a nod) she would always get this tingly-warm feeling and would try harder.  
  
Any way, she could tell her coaxing was almost done when her friends deep- purple eyes creaked open, ending up half lidded. Rin pouted at Naoki and gave her the best pleading eyes she could muster. Rin did not like eating cold breakfast (who does?). "Naoki-saaaaaaan, come one, come -on-". Yes, Rin had turned to whining to get her friend out of bed. A couple workers glared at her from under their covers. Naoki didn't have a set time to wake up like the others because she was Rin's personal assistant and was only needed when Rin needed her. This earned her some glares of her own from the others. But she, like a true youkai, thought this to be and advantage, and milked it for all its worth.  
  
With a yawn and a stretch Naoki was soon sitting up and fixing her futon. Rolling it up she said a slothful "'Morning Rin-san" from behind her back and then seated her self in front Rin. "Rin-san, so early" she yawned, "What's up?". "Breakfast. Now" Rin said abruptly and grabbed Naoki by the arm and dragged her out of the room, down the hall, and the rest of the way towards the kitchen with out another word.  
  
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When they reached the kitchen Rin still heard the sound of frying that was a good sign that breakfast was still hot. Rin soon let go of a tired Naoki's arm and sat on a plush sitting pillow next to a very large table. Sesshoumaru, of course, was no where to be seen and was probably out hunting things down that were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  
  
He must have left Jaken behind because Naoki made faces at the tirade that was heard that could only be Jaken criticizing the cooks again. Naoki took a seat across from Rin as they waited to be served. Rin has been very pampered since she came here but luckily has not turned into a spoiled brat. Rin remained the way Rin always was, a sweet, innocent, and naïve little girl.  
  
While they waited Rin decided to start a conversation to pass the time. "So Naoki-san, didn't want to wake up this morning? Were you having a good dream? Was it about-MMPH!" Rin was silenced when she got hit in the face with a sitting pillow.  
  
Removing the pillow and some lint that got in her mouth, Rin smiled wickedly. "So it was about -him-, ne? Tsk tsk Naoki-san, you shouldn't be thinking about other employees like that" Rin laughed quietly at her own joke. She had successfully gotten Naoki to turn bright red before she told Rin to hush and not to pester ones elders. Naoki, being a youkai, is about twenty to thirty years older than Rin but appears to be only a year or two older.  
  
It has been common knowledge to all the females in the estate that a certain red haired Kitsune had a huge crush on a dark purple haired, blue eyed wolf youkai from the men's quarters. Rin loved getting her friend all riled up about the subject but was soon quieted when food was set in front of their faces.  
  
Remembering her manners she picked up her chop sticks and laid a napkin on her lap. Not having to eat wild mushrooms, barries, and fish every day was like a heaven send to Rin. Though, she would have gladly eaten those things if it was to stay by Sesshoumaru.  
  
Speaking of whom, Rin noticed that she had seen less and less of him since they came to stay here. Sure they would eat meals together every once and a while and she would accompany him on trips when they were safe enough but something there was. . . well, not gone, just missing.  
  
She longed for the days when it was just her, Sesshoumaru, Ah-Un, and even that stinking Jaken. She would give up everything to go back to that. The nice living space, the food, everything except her friend Naoki of course. She wished that they could just wander around the western lands aimlessly like they used to. Rin remembered that about a two years ago she had asked Sesshoumaru a question. ~*~*~*~ "Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked timidly. "Yes, Rin?" Sesshoumaru was sitting in front of a fire on a pile of pillows and reading a paper. "Ano. . .will-will we one day go back to traveling? Like we used to? Rin-I mean I miss it. . .". There was a pause until the crinkling of paper could be heard and she lifted her head from the lowered position it was in. Sesshoumaru was actually looking at her when he answered, which was rare. He looked like he was studying her before he answered. "We shall see. . ." was all he said and turned back to the paper that lay in his palm. ~*~*~*~  
  
Well, apparently she hadn't seen and it didn't look like she was going to any time soon. She had asked the question maybe three or four other times during the duration of the next two years but the answer was always the same. 'We shall see. . .'.  
  
Rin sighed deeply and Naoki asked what was wrong. She answered with a simple "Nothing, just thinking" and finished off her breakfast. "Naoki, I'm going out to make some rings (of flowers). You can stay here. Ja ne.". Naoki tilted her head to the side in question, then shrugged and began eating again. *If Rin couldn't be alone to think and have her privacy then no one should*, Naoki thought before shoveling a pile of eggs into her mouth. (Kitsune's can eat human food. Youkai can too, but I think they think their just to 'high and mighty' to stoop so low as to actually -eat- something that isn't meat . . . ah well!)  
  
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Little Dictionary:  
  
Bishie (Bishounen)- Hot/nice looking young Guy.  
  
Gi- outfit worn for fighting (Kind of like the top part of a Kimono)  
  
Kimono- Japanese style of a formal dress.  
  
Kitsune- Fox demon  
  
Youkai- Demon  
  
Kanji- The symbols used to write the Japanese language.  
  
Ano- Umm. . .; Err. . .; uhh. . .;  
  
SUFFIX:  
  
-San- Mr.; Mrs.; Ms.  
  
-Sama- Master; Lord (The same as -San except more Formal)  
  
*All that came from my common knowledge. So, please don't get all mad because I got something wrong. Feel free to e-mail me if you want to correct me.  
  
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A/N:  
Oh. . .My. . .Gawd! THAT SUCKED! GAHHH! Well, maybe not all that bad. I suppose, no. . .ah well! R&R and then get pocky. (bad spoof of "loves" commercial) . ne way! Hope you enjoyed. The faster you review the faster I stop bashing my head against the desk! Wait. . .heh, now ur not gunna review. (joking joking! Yikes.lol) I don't feel like being over easy or medium-rare today so not many flames ok? Thanks bunches! PLEASE DON'T BE MAD. . .::Tear:: I think I did.-ok-.  
  
Some Tid-bits:  
  
NO. this is not an AU. The time line is just kinda funky. As you can tell, the time is still back in IY time. Kagome and IY are prolly all buddy-buddy now w/ kids or something when this is happening, k? you understand now?  
  
I did make up Naoki (the name, just came to me. Didn't even know I wrote it till I saw It on the screen =P) but yeah. Original Char.  
  
Lets see what else. I'll try not to get OOC but w/ Rin and Fluffy. Well, she is older now and I just think this is the way a girl her age would act, maybe a little more polite?. . .naw naw. Tell me if I should fix something.  
  
No, Naoki's crush is not connected to Kouga's wolf tribe so don't mix it up and try to figure out another plot and make yourself all anxious or something. . .heh. Yeah, So that's 'bout it. Member, inform me, I need the help! Well, gotta run! JA!  
  
With love!, (long lost) -Animyth- 


	3. Stpry Teller Tale II

A/N:  
Dun dun duuuun! I have it! Chapter 2! Ha ha ha ha! Well, yeah. I am so lazy I don't write much, heh. I'd rather read honestly. Lol. But I did this for everyone who is still out there. I hope you dont hate me!! Err. . . Please enjoy this chapter. Cuz if you dont. . .i'll be sad . . . ::tear:: ^_~'. Well ,check ya later!  
  
Incase you need it! ~*~*~* is for things like remembering  
  
* are used for thoughts like *I wonder if we have any doughnuts left. ..*  
  
- are used for italics such as -stupid-, -annoying- brother. . .  
  
& -*-*- is used when some one is reading a passage from the book.  
  
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Story Teller (Tale II)  
  
Rin sat there, immobile, listening to-or at least seeing Hana read from the book. The words seemed to have put her in a daze. She couldn't make out what Hana was saying and her vision was blurring in and out. Was it just her or was it getting harder to breath?  
  
Hana seemed to obsessed with reading from the book that she didn't notice that Rin was having trouble keeping consciousness. Or was she feigning that she didn't notice? Now, getting seriously dizzy, Rin wondered why she felt nauseous all of a sudden. She tried to tell Hana but her mouth wouldn't move. She felt paralyzed.  
  
Rin looked up and saw Hana still reading from the book, her mouth moving non-stop reading from the pages. Rin shook her head to try and get her eyes to work but it didn't seem to help much. "Ha-han. . .". That was about as much as Rin could say in the state that she was in.  
  
The last thing she saw before she blacked out completely was that Hana had looked up and had given her the eeriest smile she had ever seen.  
  
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Sesshoumaru was on his way towards the new scent he had just recently picked up. The very one that had gotten him away from that jabbering idiot called Jaken. He was moving at a more leisurely pace than he usually would have taken due to him having peace and quiet and alone time for once.  
  
Well, to bad for him but that didn't last very long. Just when he thought everything was fine and all he had to do was get rid of another pesky inferior Youkai, he picked up Rin's aroma on the wind coming from the same direction as the Youkai. "K'so" he muttered under his breath before taking on his familiar light form and making haste towards a youkai that was about to meet their untimely end.  
  
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Hana closed the book with a thud and smiled about her newly acquired prey. The book was large and heavy and Hana hefted it onto her hip for easier transportation. "Ah. What a lovely doll you will make Imoto-chan. We will have a lot of fun, ne?". Of course everything she had told Rin was an utter lie. After thinking of that she spoke to herself, "Pure of heart. Ha, like any one is actually pure of heart. Imoto-chan. . .what a spoiled little human brat. Well, there are few things you can actually do with a human and I happen to love playing with them. Let us see what the story tells for you Rin."  
  
Hana looked down to where Rin -had- been sitting whilst patiently waiting for a story that she would never hear. Rin was void of the said area. *Hearing the story. . .is to -become- the story.*  
  
Snickering, she was about to head off into the woods when she heard. . .something. It sounded like a whistle on the wind or something moving -very- fast.  
  
Before she even had time to pass it off as children or to even think about it a giant globe of light came hurtling towards her. It landed on the ground elegantly, leaving a poof of dirt rising up from the landing zone.  
  
The light soon disappeared to reveal an agitated, beautiful Youkai. Sporting a white and red kimono and armor along with a giant boa, long flowing silver hair, and cold keen golden eyes (And cute little pointy ears! -Chu 3~!). Said Youkai could be non other than the Lord of the West himself, Sesshoumaru.  
  
Although his stoic visage gave nothing of his ire away, Hana's keen senses could tell her that this Youkai was not in a very pleasant mood. Not at all.  
  
Especially when the Youkai took a look to her left and saw a passed out Rin laying on the ground. His Youkai-Ki seemed to flare when his eyes fell upon the girl rumpled on the floor, but Hana didn't even notice, to focused on the being in front of her.  
  
Hana, not usually one for fighting and more for sneakiness and back- stabbing, took a step back but wasn't planning to be a complete coward and stood her ground. This Youkai was powerful, oh she could tell that. But why would this Youkai be upset with anything she had done? She didn't think this was one of the many youkai she's betrayed and tricked. He looked much to intellectual for any of her peasant tricks.  
  
Besides, she wouldn't want to trick this one, he was much to handsome. *But, just because he has a pretty face doesn't mean he wont tear me to shreds like paper,* she thought while summing the new comer up. She made a note about his sharp talons and the vicious looking swords as his side.  
  
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Rin lay on the floor is some unknown forest in some nameless land. She groggily opened her eyes and was welcomed by the sight of light shining through tree branches and grass. *Did I fall asleep?* She rubbed her eyes and yawned before standing up. *I don't remember falling asleep. . . * She looked around to see unfamiliar surroundings. The rock that Hana had placed the book was gone. The field they were in was gone. The path she had been walking was gone. "Where am I?"  
  
Baffled by the event Rin looked around to see if she could find -anything- familiar. Anything at all. She found absolutely nothing. This place she was in, it was completely new to her. She'd never been here, even the smell was new to her. She remembered what Sesshoumaru and her teachers told her that *~* "When ever you get lost or disoriented, search for familiar scents of villages, places, people, or plants. Go to the closest village and stay there until you have your right of mind or an idea of where you are. If your gone too long, some one will be sent to find you." *~*  
  
Well, she didn't smell anything she knew. No plants, no people, no villages. She could only smell the scent of new grass and the forest she was in. She took a deep breath to calm herself and told herself "Its going to be alright, I just have to find a village to stay in for awhile. Everything is fine. . ."  
  
She turned in a full circle before deciding which direction she should take. Sesshoumaru once told her that she had a keen nose, even for a human, and she was very proud that he had said that. Since then she had tried to improve her sense of smell and now it seemed to come in handy. She could smell something burning in the distance, like wood or meat. Guessing that it was probably a village she headed east, hoping that everything was going to be alright.  
  
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Sesshoumaru glared at the female Youkai before him. She seemed to wince when she saw this. He kept his slit eyes locked on her until she spoke up. "Hello. Nice to meet your acquaintance. My name is Hanashite but you may call me Hana. How may I-" She was cut off when Sesshoumaru's eyes glared at her harder making her squirm. "What have you done to Rin. . .?" He asked. ". . .Rin?" Hana forgot all about Rin. "Oh, Rin yes. Did you know her? Poor girl didn't know about the book. Such stupid things, humans." She snickered. *Why is she talking about Rin in past tense?* He thought this before become a blur only to reform in front of Hana with his grip around her neck, not tightly but enough for a warning.  
  
He sensed something was wrong. Rin was there but. . .she wasn't. It felt like her soul had detached itself from her body. For a moment this made him curious as to what happen before he laid eyes on the book that was on Hana's hip but fell to the ground when he grabbed her. He'd seen that book before, somewhere. The cover was blank but its size, color, and age gave it some obvious characteristics. He just couldn't remember. All he knew was that it was dangerous and it wasn't good to have Rin run into something dangerous.  
  
"The book, what is it?" he asked rather annoyed that this lower youkai had harmed Rin some how. "Would you like for me to read it to y-" she was cut off again when Sesshoumaru's impatience with her grew thin and he clenched his fist around her neck tighter. "Tell me what the book is, now." "Gomen. That is a family secret that no one shall know. Not even a handsome youkai as yourself." Hana said as if it were a matter of fact. Fed up with this idiotic youkai he asked a simple question. "Really. . .?" Hana nodded. "Hai. No one will ever know. Not even that poor stupid child over there." She gestured her head in the direction of Rin.  
  
A deep growl emitted itself from Sesshoumaru and caught the attention of Hana. When she turned her head to look at him she was greeted with a horribly angered Youkai. His eyes had changed from there normal golden color to the dark green and red. "Lower class Youkai should know better." He growled out. "And what is that?" She said while narrowing her eyes. "You should know, You don't mess with the Lord of the West or his belongings." He said with a sinister voice that would surely creep the hell out of anything living near by.  
  
Hana's eyes grew so large they would have fallen of her face were it not for her eye lids. She turned her head slowly and saw Rin laying on the ground and turned back to Sesshoumaru. Her face grew pale and broke out into a sweat. This disgusted Sesshoumaru, having to get this secretion on his hands. All the more reason to speed up the process.  
  
Hana inhaled quickly before Sesshoumaru let a jolt of power that coursed through his arm and focused the energy in his hand. Closing his hand firmly around Hana's neck he squeezed till he heard the reassuring sound of her neck breaking, her head lulling from one side to the other. One more squeeze had the bone protruding from the skin and he dropped the horrid thing into a heap on the forest floor. He glared down at it and kicked it for good measure.  
  
"I may dislike humans, but I absolutely despise Youkai women." He took one last look at Hana's corpse before turning and walking over to Rin. He knelt down and sniffed at her hair, her face, by her ear. He put his hand over her face to feel for breathing and was relieved slightly when he felt the soft shallow breathing of Rin. She was still alive but had fallen into a state of coma. He brushed the dirt from her face and pushed her bangs behind her ear.  
  
He thrust his hands under her and picked her up, her head positioned by his shoulder and her legs dangling over his arm. He glared at the nasty thing on the ground and bent down to wipe the sweat she had put on his hand with her own garments. He turned and picked up the old tattered book. It smelled old and rotted and he opened it and flipped through it. All the pages were blank, except for the first one, which said "Rin".  
  
He shoved the book into his boa and turned into his light form and flew towards his estate. He made sure he passed Jaken on the way to signal that the toad should return home.  
  
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Upon arrival home a few workers welcomed him back. Naoki clambered past all the workers towards him once she saw Rin in his arm. "What happened? Why is Rin unconscious? Is she hurt? Is she going to be alright? What's wrong with her? What-" Sesshoumaru was getting rather upset with all the rambling every one was doing as of late. "Take Rin to her room and ask the other workers to bring ice and water into her room" He put Rin into Naoki's arms and turned to leave to his study. Naoki sped towards Rin's room with a frantic look on her face all the while shouting for the others to get what was needed.  
  
Naomi placed Rin in her bed and pulled the covers up over her friend. "Poor Rin. What happened to you now?" *I guess even Rin can't have any peace and alone time. . .* The creek of the door made her turn and look as a worker came in and handed her a towel, a bucket of water, and a bowel of ice. "Arigato" Naoki muttered as she started to dip the towel into the water. Wringing it she cleaned Rin's face, folded it, and laid it on Rin's forehead. Sighing Naomi prepared to spend the night in her friends room to look after her.  
  
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Sesshoumaru walked quickly down the halls of his home and towards the large oaken doors of his study. He shoved them open and revealed the book from the boa on his shoulder. He looked it over again and tried to remember where it was from. Still he came up with nothing. He thought if he opened it again and looked for any small details it might tell him something about its self.  
  
He flipped open the heavy cover with a single finger and turned passed the page that said "Rin". His eyes grew very slightly in size when he saw the writing there. There was no writing before, his Youkai senses knew so. But now, it seemed the writing just appeared. *Is that possible?* He read the first sentence and was suddenly fascinated and a bit unsettled. What he read was:  
  
The girl Rin lay on the floor is some unknown forest in some nameless land. She opened her eyes and saw the light shining through tree branches and grass. Did I fall asleep? She thought. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before standing up. *I don't remember falling asleep. . .* She looked around her surroundings. The boulder she fell asleep next to was gone. The field she was in was gone. The path she had been walking was gone. "Where am I?"  
  
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A/N:  
Woo man, heh- I feel happy I finished it. Its a little short but I hope you like it any way. Man, im such a procrastinator. Im sure you all hate my now- heh heh. . .::cough:: any way, yeah. Finals haven't been helping either. Heh. . .::tried to get away with blaming it on something::. Err. . .I hope you liked it! R & R puh-leaz! Love ya for ever an ever!!! Ja ne!  
  
-Animyth- 


	4. Story Teller Tale III

A/N:  
Hullo hullo! Nice to see everyone again! I finished this chap. in one day. Aren'tchya proud of meh? Well, I tried-lol. I hope you enjoy it. This chap. Is mostly about Rin-like the whole fic. So I hope you like Rin cuz your gettin' a lot of her here. Minor- characters are fun once in a while!  
  
Incase you need it! ~*~*~* is for things like remembering  
  
* are used for thoughts like *I wonder if we have any doughnuts left. ..*  
  
- are used for italics such as -stupid-, -annoying- brother. . .  
  
& -*-*- is used when some one is reading a passage from the book.  
  
On with the fic!!!! ^_~'  
  
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Story Teller (Tale III)  
  
(Recap!) The girl Rin lay on the floor is some unknown forest in some nameless land. She opened her eyes and saw the light shining through tree branches and grass. Did I fall asleep? She thought. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before standing up. *I don't remember falling asleep. . .* She looked around her surroundings. The boulder she fell asleep next to was gone. The field she was in was gone. The path she had been walking was gone. "Where am I?"  
  
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What did all this mean? Sesshoumaru, for once, hadn't the faintest of clues. How did the words come to be on the pages if he was the only one who had touched the book since he picked it up? As much as it intrigued him it also angered him that he didn't know what it was.  
  
The sliding of the door made him turn his gaze to the back of the room. Jaken was met with Sesshoumaru's ire, which isn't too pretty. "Ano. . .Sesshoumaru-sama, might I ask what that book is?" Came the shaky question from the toad. Sesshoumaru's blunt reply of "No." made him cower but he ventured one more question before he would depart, lest he get pummeled with some inanimate object. "May I take a look at it, me lord?" Sesshoumaru peered down at the book then walked over to the window, his was of saying 'I don't care.'  
  
The smaller youkai scurried over to the table where the book was placed and looked it over before he decided to pick it up, or at least 'attempt' to pick it up, it was large after all. Jaken couldn't lift the book and decided to just flip through it. The toad spread his fingers over the first page and read the name 'Rin' on it. He asked Sesshoumaru if the book had anything in it when he first got it, with out taking his large eyes from the page.  
  
After not hearing an answer he looked up to see Sesshoumaru staring at him, with a look that said 'do you know something. . .?', that made him let out a puny little "eep!". Sucking in a breath he dared to ask again. "Ano. . .Sesshoumaru-sa-" "No. The book didn't have anything in it. If you don't know anything, Jaken, then leave." Sesshoumaru didn't take his eyes off Jaken as he replied.  
  
Jaken gave what sounding like a nervous chuckle before continued his appraisal of the ancient relic. Giving a 'huff' Jaken said "Well Sesshoumaru-sama, If I didn't know any better I'd have to think this was one of those 'story books' weak tricksters youkai carry with them." Sesshoumaru gave an uncharacteristic quirking of one eyebrow. "So ka. . .?" Jaken nodded vivaciously. "Do you know anything else, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru asked monotonously.  
  
Closing his eyes gave Sesshoumaru the signal that the green youkai was going into one of his rambling states, but if it gave him some sort of information about what happened to Rin or what the book was. . . he would endure. Just this once.  
  
Jaken started saying "Well, when I was a young youkai I heard rumors from the others in my clan that there were these new youkai who carries large books with them. They said that the youkai carried these books so they could trap the souls of other youkai and human alike in the books and feast upon them and 'play' with them, because the youkai were to weak to fight and kill on their own. Why stupid youkai like that even exist, I don't know. I don't even know if the rumors are true. Its disgusting how a youkai would feed on humans -and- youkai. Filthy. And such-GACK!"  
  
Jaken has received a face full of splintery wood, coming from the -chunk- of wood Sesshoumaru pelted him with from the nearby fire place. Even Sesshoumaru can only last so long through one of Jaken's babblings. He got all the information he needed out of this idiot youkai anyway.  
  
"Jaken, go and find out more about these youkai. Also, see if you can find a person who knows how to reverse the action once the book has taken a soul." Sesshoumaru said coolly. "Ah. . Sesshoumaru-sama, are you suggesting that Rin has-" He was cut off, -again- "Yes. Go and find the reversal now. I will expect information to be given to me tomorrow. Now leave." Sesshoumaru didn't bother hiding his agitation, he was to busy trying to figure out what had happened to Rin. *Is that what I felt? Your soul being detached from your living body?* This question swirled in his mind as he thought of his next move.  
  
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Rin. . .Rin was, well, Rin was lost. She had been walking in the same direction for what seemed like hours, not getting any closer to her destination. She swore she smelled something from over in this direction. Breathing in the air again she tried to discern where she needed to go. "Darn it!" She sighed. She was heading to east. She had been trailing of eastward when her goal was south. Well, now wasn't a time for mopping.  
  
Picking up her pace Rin began walking south, in the -right- direction.  
  
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Around and hour or two passed before she came upon an exit of the vast woods. She had reached the edge of the forest and thankfully sunlight, it was dark in there. Smiling she headed out of the trees only to broaden her smile when she saw smoke rising up past a close hill. She ran towards the hill at full speed only to slow while going up it. Huffing and out of breath she looked out over the small village that she was looking for. "great!" she said.  
  
Making her way down the hill, she started to notice something. . .not quite right about this village. It was smaller than most, or smaller than the ones Sesshoumaru would let her get close enough to. But, that wasn't what bugged her. It was quiet. Really -really- quiet. Eerily so, actually. *Where are the children? The adults? Don't that have any animals?* Rin trotted up to the side of a building on the outskirts of the town. Peering around the side of the building, she investigated to see if this place would bring her harm. She didn't see much. Some old houses and randomly placed buildings.  
  
It looked like this place should prosper yet no one was around. "Has it been abandoned?" she asked herself. The sound of a bell could be heard in the distance. Not a small bell but like a gong, a big bell. "what's. . .that?" Movement got caught in the corner of her eye and she saw a person coming out of a house. It was a normal looking man, plain clothed and looking pretty healthy. Nothing wrong with him or any of the other people who began emerging from their homes.  
  
"Looks like its lunch time" Rin deduced because the market stalls were beginning to open to the crowd. The people talked together normally and there were children and animals. Old ladies walked on the streets complaining about the price of rice and fish and kids played with a stick and a hoop toy. Men laughed and conversed and the women did the same. Everything look perfectly normal. "well, here I go. . ."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Rin stepped into the village and right into the market. Once enough time passed loads of people filled the paths and market stalls. *I don't think I've ever seen so many people at once!* She thought excitedly. She gazed wide eyed at the men, woman, children, and animals. She looked upon the stalls of food and trinkets. Her stomach gave a growl telling her to eat something and also telling her that the food in front of her looked -really- good. Digging in her pocket Rin fished out some money that she'd always kept handy. Who knows when someone might need money, be it her or someone else?  
  
She made her way towards the vendor to purchase her lunch and tried to get his attention by waving at him. He didn't seem to see her so she tried hollering to him from the back if his stall. Still no response. So dodging a few people and roughly escaping from tripping over a goat she made her way to a spot right in front of him. No way could he miss her now.  
  
"Ano. . .excuse me" She said. He didn't so much as look at her. "Excuse me!" She said louder and he still didn't notice her. Well, she was -not- going to be ignored. "Hello! May I purchase a rice ball please!" And still the man did nothing. "Ahg! I can't take it anymore!" She took her finger and jabbed it into his shoulder. He didn't even budge so she tried a second time. Nothing and he -still- ignored her.  
  
'Humph'ing' she walked over to a different stall to see if this person was nicer. Nope, same as the other guy, this was even a woman and she was being ignored. Shaking her head in dismay she decided she would just have to 'borrow' something for lunch. Jaken once told her that "if some one didn't give you what you wanted, even if you were willing to pay or do something for it, then you should just take it. Their just -stupid- humans after all. They don't need it". Rin didn't often take Jaken's advice, because it was usually horrible, but she -was- hungry and she did try and pay for it but they wouldn't listen to her. Snatching a rice ball from a near by table she put it into the folds of her gi and went to sit on one of the benches by the well.  
  
"Either I'm really good at stealing or the people just didn't see me. . .hmm." She shrugged and pulled out her hidden lunch and scarfed it quickly. Smiling she got up and went over to the well and brought up the bucket for a drink. The water was cool and clean and she took a bid gulp before she put the bucket on the wells ledge.  
  
A little boy was walking slowly past her with a pup at his side. He looked kind of sad so Rin thought she would go cheer him up, she was trained to be kind to everyone, unless she wanted to be killed. "Hi there. My names Rin. Is something that matter?" the boy kept walking. "Hello, little boy?" he placed his hand on the dogs head and scratched its ears while walking. "Little boy, does everyone not like foreigners?" silence.  
  
*I've got an idea . . .* Rin made her way over to the well and climbed up onto it. Cupping her hands around her mouth she yelled as loud as she could "CAN I HAVE EVERYONES ATTENTION PLEASE?" Everyone kept walking like she hadn't even yelled. Not even a head turned to see what was going on not even and ear twitched from her vociferousness. *Fine. I'll try again.* "HELLOOOO!!!" Still nothing. Ok, this was getting strange. Even more stranger than she first thought.  
  
She went to the closes person to her and tugged on their sleeve but they didn't notice her. She went to another person and poked them a couple times and they didn't even look at her. "What's wrong with these people? Can't they see me? Hear me? Are they all deaf and blind?" She ran around and shoved people but no one moved and even dared to punch some one and ended up hurting her hand. "This city is like. . .its like a city full of ghosts." Rin, of course, didn't believe in ghosts. And besides, you can't punch a ghosts. And why would they be eating food and talking to each other if they were dead?  
  
Rin tried something she thought was bound to get their attention. She stole a whole bad of fruit, right in front of everyone and when that didn't work she pushed over the shelf that she'd stolen it from. All the fruit and veggies and dead fish went every where. People walked past her like nothing. She ran all over, knocking things over and tearing things down. She even through an apple at some guys head, it just bounced off.  
  
She was beginning to panic. This city, nothing happened in it. No one responded to her. She tried everything she could think of, did things she would have never done, and it still hadn't worked.  
  
"What's-What's going on?" She sobbed out. A tear leaked from the corner of her eye. She didn't know where she was, she didn't know anyone, and now she was stuck in this strange town where no one responded to anything. She could see them talk to each other but when she tried. . .She gave out a trembling sigh and another tear made a path down her cheek. She missed Sesshoumaru and his house, she missed her garden and Naoki. Heck, she even missed Jaken. Anything was better than this place she'd stumbled into.  
  
She took a deep breath and tried to plan things out. She had to be reasonable, calm, smart; Like Sesshoumaru told her to be.  
She decided the best thing to do would be to stay here for the night. Find a place to sleep and only stay as long as she needed to. Then she'd leave and try and find another village or even her way home. Kami-sama, how much she wanted to be home, with Sesshoumaru's boa around her and a fire going. She wanted to hear the scraping of quill against parchment when he would be writing things or the sound of leather against metal when he cleaned his swords. Rin's eyes misted up and she rubbed at them and sniffled. "I have to be strong! For Naoki and Sesshoumaru and Jaken" She said hoarsely.  
  
She walked through the streets of the silent city, since everyone had left the market to reside at home, and searched for an inn. She found a rather nice looking one and walked right past the owner who sat at a counter in the front by the door, who also didn't notice-like everyone else. She walked into a few rooms and found them occupied. When she found a large empty one she unfurled the futon and laid down. Staring at the ceiling she said in a whisper to herself "I hope you know I'm gone Sesshoumaru-sama. You said all I had to do was wait but I can't wait here, its to disturbing. Please come get me soon."  
  
She swallowed the large lump in her throat and swiped at her eyes again. Eventually she got tired of looking at the ceiling and fell asleep.  
  
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At the Sesshoumaru estate everything seemed quite panicky. All the workers were on edge because 'something' had upset Sesshoumaru to a great extent. They didn't know what though. Naoki and Jaken knew but they thought it best to keep quiet.  
  
Naoki knew Rin wasn't. . .-normally- ill and when she asked Jaken about it he told her what he knew. The news shocked Naoki that her friends soul wasn't in the body which lay in the bed. Naoki had been feeding Rin's body, trying to keep its frail mortal being nurtured, and her body seemed to take the food well enough. She also had been bathing Rin and dressing her, keeping her clean and manicured. After she heard what happened she thought it was the least she could do for her friend.  
  
While Naoki took care of Rin Jaken was busy finding information on the book and people who could heal the misfortunate. When he only found a few scraps the first day Sesshoumaru nearly cut off his ear. Everyday Sesshoumaru was becoming more and more foul tempered. The west had been clear of youkai for a week now because even they could feel his anger.  
  
Even once a few days ago a worker had disturbed Sesshoumaru while he was thinking and got cleanly sliced in half. Of course Jaken had to clean it up, though he wouldn't -dare- complain about it.  
  
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Some one was approaching the estate and Jaken went out to greet them, hoping to Kami they had good news. The youkai, who was rather ugly, was stuttering horribly when he finally said what he came to say. "A-ano. . .er. News from the-the East. Wa-we found out that theres a-an ancient Youkai wh-who knows about the ba-book. He knows how ta-to get the persons soul back." Jaken wasn't to pleased with the way this youkai was speaking. "Well spit it out! Before Sesshoumaru-sama gets any more agitated!" He barked. "Ri-right! Um. . .His name is Hoken. He can beh-be found in the Seido forest in the west!" finished the youkai. "alright, alright. Now get out of here you stupid thing!" Jaken said. The youkai hurried away happy to still have its life after coming into the western lands that had such a hot tempered lord.  
  
TBC!!! -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_--_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  
  
A/N:  
Hi~! How is everyone living now, hmm? I hope it wasn't to awful, ne? I tried to make it less boring by putting some happy stuff if there and a little sad stuff and very slight violence. Man, it would so suck if you got cut in half for just walking into a room. Heh heh. . .::cough:: ^_~' Please R & R. And I'll love ya lots. It makes me happy. I mean, I right for people and I would like to know people are actually reading. Although, I do write for myself too. That reminds me, I wanted to write a fic about this -really- good dream I had. . .::eyes glaze over:: ::is in dream land:: +pop!+ huh? Oh right, gomen bout that. Ha ha ha. .. Well, guess I'll see you all next chap. 3-4 more to go! Depends. See ya!  
  
-Animyth- 


	5. Story Teller Tale IV

A/N:  
Hullo! Next chapter! I hope you enjoy it. Typical chap. More about Rin and Fluffy finds some stuff out. ::sigh:: I'm hopeless. . .  
  
Incase you need it! ~*~*~* is for things like remembering  
  
* are used for thoughts like *I wonder if we have any doughnuts left. ..*  
  
& - are used for italics such as -stupid-, -annoying- brother. . .  
  
On with the fic!!!! ^_~'  
  
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Story Teller (Tale IV)  
  
Rin, still in the silent village, still slept as the first rays of light filtered through the thin paper door. The light warmed her face and she rolled over trying to hide herself from it. Then, with a start, she remembered where she was and what happened.  
  
*The strange village where people don't see me. . .* Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she stood up, folded the futon, and placed it in its original place. "Time to go. . ." she whispered to herself as she slid open the door quietly. No one was awake yet so she tip-toed around the small Inn. She stopped when she realized she was doing something stupid. "Wait a minute. . . why am I being so quiet? They can't hear me." Giving a huff of annoyance she continued wandering around until she happened upon the kitchen. *Alright, I need food and water. . .and maybe a blanket.*  
  
She fumbled around the small kitchen for a few minutes before she found all the food she would need to last for a little while. She had two loaves of bread, some fruit, and a jug of water. Leaving that on a table she searched around until she found a cabinet with spare blankets. Taking the thickest one she placed all her 'supplies' in the middle and tied the blanket into a big sack. Nodding her approval of the job she hefted the bag over her shoulder and headed towards the front of the inn.  
  
She heard a sound like the padding of feet and when she turned the corner towards the door, there was the owner of the building. Rin gave an 'eep!' and hopped to the side before the person walked right into her. She watched as said person just kept walking not even wondering why Rin had a giant sack on her shoulder or how she had gotten in in the first place. Sighing, she left to continue towards the door and passed another person on her way out. Rin didn't even care whether or not they noticed and just left.  
  
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It didn't take her long to get to the outskirts of the creepy village. She looked towards the hills she had climbed to get here to what she thought was her savior and took a deep intake of air. The morning chill woke her up completely and she looked up to the sky. "Sesshoumaru-sama. . ." She didn't want to think about it but she had to find a way to get back to. . .to her home.  
  
Putting on a stern and determined face she headed in the opposite direction than that of where she had come.  
  
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Jaken came scurrying into the house so fast that many workers turned their heads to see what all the commotion was about. All they saw was a green toad speeding towards the library mumbling something about Rin and a book.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama!!" yelled Jaken as he forced open the sliding door so fast it bounced of the wall with a resounding snap and smacked him in the head. Rubbing his head and angrily shoving the door aside he stepped into the room. Dusting himself off he began again. "Ano, Sesshoumaru-sama. . ." He got a cold reply of "What is it, Jaken. . ."  
  
"News m'lord! About a healer named Hoken in the Seido forest! I've been informed that he can help Rin m'lord!" Sesshoumaru, who was facing a window turned to glance at Jaken as he spoke. "The source is reliable?" came a monotonous question from Sesshoumaru. "Ha-Hai! It came from the lord of the East!"  
  
Sesshoumaru's hand stroked his boa as he contemplated what to do. "Lets go. Now" He said and breezed past Jaken and into the hall. Jaken blinked twice before it registered that he better get to Sesshoumaru before the Lord of the West left him behind.  
  
When Jaken found Sesshoumaru he found him in Rin's room and stood stock still in the doorway. "Go away Jaken. Wait outside." Sesshoumaru didn't even bother to look up. Jaken hurried out and made for the room where he kept his staff.  
  
Sesshoumaru gazed down at Rin's form that lay in a bed with the covers pulled up to her chin. He placed his hand on her forehead, making sure not to scratch her with his nails, and brushed her bangs away from her eyes. Turning to the table by her bed he picked up the Book and placed it in his boa (some where. . .^_~'). Looking back to Rin one last time he left the room and saw a surprised Naoki standing by the door. Narrowing his eyes at her, he knew she was -trying- to see what he was up to, he told her to go tend to Rin as he walked past her towards the front door.  
  
Upon approaching the door Sesshoumaru saw Jaken with his staff and told him they were leaving to go to Seido forest and that if his information was faulty, like always, he would pay the consequences.  
  
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The sun was directly above Rin now and she didn't have to look up to tell. The heat was almost unbearable as she trudged on through this empty field. She hadn't seen anything, -ANYTHING- in the past two hours. Just endless grass and this straight path she had been walking. It wasn't short grass either, this stuff was only a few inches shorter than herself. It grew tall and thick and if anyone shorter than she went into it they would certainly get lost in such a place. That being one of the reasons she stayed on the path. She could either go forward or backward and seeing how she had been headed in this direction for what seemed like forever. It didn't even stump her as to why there was this path here or why it was there.  
  
Exhausted and thirsty she dropped the sack on the ground in front of her and untied the little knot. Pulling up the jug she took a hug swig of water and took a pleased gasp for air when she ran out of breath. "ahh. . .much better." After wiping her forehead she tied up the bag and continued walking.  
  
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She walked and walked and walked and then, she walked some more. The sun -now- was close to setting and she knew she had to find some kind of shelter before she could rest her weary body and sleep. "Sleeeeep. . ." it almost made her drool just thinking about it. Taking a huge yawn she kept walking and when she looked forward again she saw something that made her so incredibly happy. She saw. . .a small forest.  
  
From where she was standing she could see from one end of it to the other and she could even see how thick it was. It was so small she could walk around it in less than an hour. "Better than nothing." she mumbled.  
  
Speeding up her pace slightly she made for the trees to hide from the sun and what ever beasts prowled around at night here.  
  
She was now at the first tree of the forest. It wasn't very dense so it was easy to get from one place to another and some big trees she saw from here looked like a great place to sleep in. The grass didn't grow as high here either but once she was in the forest she had no path because the path seemed to just stop at the edge. Furrowing her brows as to why it just stopped she began to get even more tired which reminded her she couldn't just conk out right here so she headed towards one of the large trees and decided she would think about the path later.  
  
Once she was at the trunk of the tree she saw how truly large it really was. There would have to be 7 of her linked to together to go around the whole of it. "Thank kami-sama some branches are low enough to reach!" She threw up her bag onto a low hanging branch, which was also pretty big, and then she clawed her way up to it. The branch was just right; it was large enough that she could fall asleep with out hanging of the sides and still have room to roll over on her side. "Perfect!" She said happily and with a smile. "Finally things are looking up!" Putting her bag behind her head, like a makeshift pillow, she got as comfortable as one can in a tree and nodded off as soon as she shut her eyes.  
  
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"Sesshoumaru-sama! Waaaaiiit!" Jaken was trailing behind. Sesshoumaru had already entered Seido forest and was making haste in the direction in which he smelled a youkai. He didn't even bother to slow down for Jaken.  
  
The Seido forest isn't just called that because it sounds nice, its called that because that's what the color of the forest is year round. The forest, whether it has lots of rain and sunshine or not, is always an autumnish color of golden-brown and red. The trees look like their in constant death yet never die. The ground is dirt and never grows bushes or grass. And leaves covered the ground, littered it making for a dreary scene at night -or- during the day.  
  
This gave Jaken a chill but seemed not to faze Sesshoumaru one bit. Jaken was following behind looking around the surroundings wearily when he bumped into a tree. Or what he thought was a tree but turned out to be Sesshoumaru's leg. Jaken gasped at his mess up and went to apologize when Sesshoumaru told him to be quiet.  
  
"Hoken" said Sesshoumaru matter of factly. "Hmm. . .yeesss. Been expecting some one to come and visit me soon. After that damn insufferable youkai made off with one of my books I knew some one would come here. But, never did I think that it would be the Lord of the West. A pleasure to meet you Sesshoumaru-sama." Said the smooth voice that answered.  
  
"How would one retrieve someone from the book. . .? tell me." Said Sesshoumaru. "Straight forward I see. Hmm, yes. Well, because I want my book back you have to give it to me before I tell you that. You do have it? Don't you. . .?" Sesshoumaru's hand disappeared into his boa before it returned with the book in hand.  
  
"Excellent excellent." Said Hoken. "Hoken! Come out where we can see you, you stupid old youkai!" spat Jaken. "Alright alright. Very well."  
  
The leaves moved in a wind that neither Sesshoumaru or Jaken felt. They rustled and gathered and built up. They seemed to build into a column as tall as a human looking Youkai and before their very eyes took the shape of one. The leaves seemed to melt together forming skin of a tan hue and soon the arms and legs and torso where completely formed. The leaves of the head pulled to the sides like curtains and spilled down to the mid-back of the figure and somehow turned to hair-like pieces. The face formed, from the leaves that stretched and melted over that area, creating a lean nose and eyes much like Sesshoumaru's along with pencil line eyebrows and a full and firm mouth.  
  
This young looking youkai surprised Jaken who was expecting some old codger. He was shocked a second time when the youkai opened his eyes to reveal shockingly deep red orbs. Hoken was wearing a long rust colored hunting robe that flowed over his shoulders and onto the ground. A large hood hung loose on the back and it was closed in the front by golden leaf shaped buttons, hiding anything underneath(Like the robes from LotR). His hair was a very pale blond, almost white, and was hanging loosely on top of his shoulders and continued down his back.  
  
"Konbanwa. . ." Hoken greeted. Sesshoumaru's expression didn't falter but if one looked closely enough you could see the tiniest bit of respect in his golden eyes.  
  
"That Youkai said you were old. Stupid idiot must have been blind!" murmured Jaken. "Ah, but I am old. Yes. Just as old as Sesshoumaru's father, if he were still alive, and these trees." Jaken blinked stupidly when Hoken answered his question that he didn't mean for any one to hear. *Wait a minute. . .If he's as old as Sesshoumaru-sama's father that means he's. . . almost a millennia old!!* While Jaken seemed stunned into a temporary coma by this revelation Sesshoumaru asked Hoken a question.  
  
"You knew my father. . .?" asked Sesshoumaru. "Hmm? Oh yes, delightful company, he was. Very strong and smart. Though, he did have some interesting views on humans. Some of which the council didn't approve of. . . but I suppose every one is allowed their own beliefs." replied Hoken. Sesshoumaru gave a small nod and held up the book for Hoken to take. Hoken walked over and took the book gently from Sesshoumaru's hands. He ran his fingers over the cover and checked its weight and he flipped through some of the pages. "Good. This is it, arigato. And this 'Rin' is the one you seek to retrieve?"  
  
Another nod from Sesshoumaru. "Alright. Now that I know your not lying to me like that other Youkai, here" he handed the book back to Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru, for once, looked befuddled. "You see, its actually quiet simple. Her soul is in the book, correct? Well, all you have to do is put the soul back in the body. Burn the book and-" He paused, put his hand into his robe a pulled out a leather pouch. "-And mix the ashes with this grain. Cook it so its not liquid and give it to her. Then-" he stopped again and pulled out a small blue-ish green bottle and handed this to Sesshoumaru also "-Then give her this to drink and her soul will return within a day or so. You see, its simple as long as you have the right ingredients and knowledge. And I was going to use that book too, hmm o well."  
  
He paused for a moment and looked like he was pondering something. "You must care for this girl right? She's human too. . . must run in the blood." He gave the most beautiful smile that appeared to stretch over his whole face before his body returned to leaves and scattered in the unfelt breeze.  
  
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A/N:  
Konichiwa! How was that, hmmm? Found out what's gunna happen now. . .er, kinda. Man. . .I need to improve on my writing skills! Lol- I hope you enjoyed it at least! And I hope it wasn't a hassle to read (Like those fics where you don't really -like them- like them but you want to find out what happens ^_~'). Truly am sorry for taking so long w/ the fic. I'm such a bad author! Procrastinator me- heh heh. Ne who, R & R puhlease~! My Bishie-muse would luv ya if ya did! I think about 2-3 more chaps more until. . .dun dun dun! Its all gooone! ::tear:: heh, well, I know I'm gunna do another fic. Don't know when, don't know what but I'm pretty sure I'm gunna try my hand at ROMANCE. ::gasp!:: I know I know! Lol. Hopefully I wont suck to bad at it! And its not gunna be all citrusy either (Not yet at least. . .::cough:: )  
  
PS How'd I do on Hoken? XP  
  
-Animyth- 


	6. Story Teller Tale V

A/N:  
Another chap. And one more after this. I hope every one is still w/ me. I would hate it if you weren't ::tear:: (Depressing Announcer voice: Every time you don't R & R another muse dies . . .) Let me know ya love meh! ::cough:: Ne way, enjoy the chapter and uhh. . .enjoy the chapter~! ^_^  
  
Incase you need it! ~*~*~* is for things like remembering  
  
* are used for thoughts like *I wonder if we have any doughnuts left. ..*  
  
& - are used for italics such as -stupid-, -annoying- brother. . .  
  
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Story Teller ( Tale V )  
  
A scraping sound awoke Rin from her slumber on the tree branch. The glow of the rising sun just reached the horizon that she could see between the trees, telling her that she had gotten some sleep before she was rudely awakened. The scraping continued as Rin strained to hear it. "It sounds like. . ." she trailed off as she leaned closer to the edge of the branch to peek over the side. She was met with something that wasn't all too pleasant. After a quick intake of breath and careful not to scream she straightened her back against the trees trunk. She closed her eyes and saw again the vicious animals that were directly under her.  
  
They looked like wolves, except they were abnormally large; probably as tall as she when they sat down. The reason she was so frightened was because they were ripping apart another animal. One that was so mutilated she couldn't even tell what it was. The scene of them viciously pulling it apart and fighting off each other for bits and pieces made her sick. There were about five of them, at least that's what she saw when she had leaned over for about three seconds.  
  
Huge black beasts that looked like they could shred a human in a minute. "Not good!" she said hoarsely. *Soon they'll finish what they have down there and start looking for me!*  
  
Rin, once again, was not having a very good day.  
  
The sun was slowly rising uncovering hidden things and making away with the shadows. There was rustling under her and more scraping until suddenly all went quiet. Breathing heavily Rin dared to take another peek over the side. Leaning ever slowly she clung to the branch for support. Her grip tightened on the branch when the sight of eight bloodshot green eyes stared at her intensely. The wolves stood so eerily still they might have been made of stone. Saliva dripping from their mouths, slick black ears laid low to their large heads, and huge glistening teeth sneering at her, their lips quivering in a low growl.  
  
Rin's breath was becoming extremely labored and a cold sweat broke on her brow and upper lip. One of the dogs approached the branch until it was right in front of her; she didn't move. It had moved to fluidly she couldn't think properly until It lashed out at her and barked and growled, its salivate ooze going every where. It jumped high and almost touched the branch. Rin swung till her back hit the trunk. She heard the others join in the hungered growling.  
  
She tried hard and finally got her breathing down and wiped the sweat from her face. "Think. . .think!" Her voices was shaky. Well, those defense lessons she had taken would come in handy now. Standing up on the branch, she bent over and picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "The trees are close enough to jump from one another. Maybe, if I can go fast enough, I can lose them in the forest. . ."  
  
She held the bag to her with one arm and was ready to used the other for support incase she slipped or needed balance. Taking a deep breath she prepared to leap to the next tree. The noise of bark being stripped away from the tree told her they were still at it and they were trying to climb.  
  
Crouching over slightly, she bent her legs and leapt. The branch she landed on was smaller and she used her hand to steady herself. "One down. . ." She prepared herself for the next jump.  
  
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Sesshoumaru and Jaken had arrived home not and hour after they left Hoken's forest. Sesshoumaru still had to deal with Jaken's stupid blabbering about how 'strange that Youkai was' or how 'incredibly old he was' on their way back though. And all he could do about it was sigh and roll his eyes on the inside (-che. like he would really do that on the -outside-).  
  
Once inside his estate, Sesshoumaru made his was towards the kitchen. All the workers gasped and bowed when he entered because he had -never- been in the kitchen before, -ever-. Because he hardly ate and when he did he was always served in the library.  
  
Pointing out some random worker he said "You. Burn this book and cook its ashes with this." He sat the pouch of grain on a nearby table. "Don't loose any of the ashes or it will be yours that are scattered next." With that he glared at the worker and continued. "When you are done bring it to Rin's room."  
  
He quickly made his exit leaving a sputtering worker with huge eyes behind.  
  
Jaken returned to his side once he exited the kitchen. He told Jaken to go make sure every one was doing their job. Jaken rushed away to some area of the building while Sesshoumaru continued down the hall.  
  
Soon, he reached Rin's room and slid open the door. Naoki was sitting next to Rin and was patting her forehead with a cloth. When seeing Sesshoumaru she stood, bowed, then left the room.  
  
Sesshoumaru walked languidly over to the side of the bed and looked down at Rin's pale complexion. Her eyebrows were knit together as if in concentration. The evening sun cast light into the room, through the window, making everything a light orange and it made Rin's face shine lightly with sweat.  
  
As he watched her face change from concentration to worry and then to anguish he noticed that her face wasn't as full as it used to be. Her small cherub face had lengthened and smoothed out into the face of a young teen. As mortal life changed and grew his stayed the same. His features hadn't altered since the day he had found her small body eaten by wolves. He still had his same build, same face, same eyes, same nose, same hair; nothing changed. His Rin, -His- Rin was growing up while leaving him behind.  
  
He realized the reason why he hadn't noticed this transformation in her until now. He hadn't noticed -her-. He hadn't even looked at her , like he used to when they traveled, to just watch her. He'd missed them some how, the alterations in the little human girl that he had picked up all those year ago. For some odd reason he couldn't explain, that made him feel -something- that wasn't pleasurable.  
  
He hated how he cared so much for a human, something he detested above all else only a short while ago. He glared at Rin's form, he wanted to hate humans like he did before but, he couldn't. Not when this mortal came from them.  
  
He took the bottle Hoken had given him and put it on the table next to Rin's bed. He looked at it and watched as the golden light glinted of its bluish surface. "Impossibly weak humans. . ." he said coolly. He turned to Run again and laid his hand on her forehead, much like before with out bending over, and brushed her bangs back from her face.  
  
He withdrew his hand when he sensed some one nearing the door. A brisk knock was heard and he said "come in" monotonously, like always. Naoki slid open the door and walked over to the table, placing a black tray with a small round piece of bread in it on the table. "Here you are Sesshoumaru- sama" and Naoki excused herself sliding the door closed behind her.  
  
Sesshoumaru put his hand on the bread and felt the warmth of it. He picked it up and broke it in half, steam rising up into the air. He sat, as honorably as he could, beside Rin and considered what action he should take to get this food into her.  
  
A few moments later he thought of the best plan and slid his arm under Rin's back. Lifting her into a sitting position he used his arm to keep her up and his hand to keep her head from lolling to one side. Of course he would only get into such a position like this for Rin and made sure no one was around to see the slightly caring side of him.  
  
Braking apart the bread into smaller pieces he put them on the bed. He picked a piece and brought it to Rin's mouth. He paused, now was the hard part.  
  
*Why didn't I just get Naoki to do this. . .?* he asked himself. *Because you wanted to make sure it got done properly.*  
  
He thrust the food against Rin's lips and twisted it gently trying to work its way into her mouth. Finally, Rin's body realized it was being fed and her lips immediately enclosed the small piece of food. Grateful that she was chewing by herself Sesshoumaru took another piece in his hand.  
  
After he made sure nothing was left of the bread he took the bottle from the table and uncorked it. The liquid inside had a strong aroma, strong enough that you didn't have to be a Youkai to pick it up, of honeysuckle. Bringing the lip of the bottle up to her mouth he titled it till Rin's mouth opened to except it. He titled and then brought it back up so she could breath then tilted it again. He repeated this until it to was gone.  
  
*Now, we wait. . . *  
  
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Jumping around in trees and being chased by hungry evil wolves out to tear you limb from limb wasn't Rin's idea of a fun pass time.  
  
Right when she thought she had gotten away from them she saw out of the corner of her eye one running on the ground below her. She was sweating and it kept getting in her eyes. She swiped again at her face and took a jump again to the next tree. She hadn't slipped once and was actually getting a knack for jumping around in trees.  
  
Her lungs burned and the pounding of those huge feet on the ground below was the only thing that spurred her on. She had made it into the thicker realm of the forest. Trees practically pressed together in some spots. She thought that the forest didn't look this big from the outside, and wondered if she was going around in circles.  
  
As the trees got denser the shadows seemed to grow up from the ground. And when she was leaping from branch to branch, keeping one eye on the wolves, she could have sworn when they got in the shadows of the trees that they disappeared. She watched them weave in and out of the trees and the blackness like shadows themselves.  
  
Swiping at her eyes and breathing harshly she jumped again. But, this time, she hit something on the branch. There, right where she had landed, was the stub of an old branch. She had landed on it, her foot half on it half off, and it twisted her ankle painfully. She couldn't get her balance back and her arms were to far from the tree she tried to get to.  
  
She saw her feet in the air and then her arms. Her hair bordered her face as she felt gravity take her down. The wind rushed past her and she hit a few smaller branches on her way down. Then she felt a pain in her back when she hit the ground. She landed on her sack but also on the jug in the sack, which shattered and jabbed her in the back. She screamed out in agonizing pain from falling from such a height and landing on the jug.  
  
She struggled to sit up and dug her elbows into the ground. And then the sound of the wolves met her ears. The rustle of leaves and the change of shadows. She turned her head to see but it was painful so she just looked forward and glanced from side to side. Then, seemingly out of the shadow cast on the tree before her, appeared the largest of the pack.  
  
It paced right to left and back again never taking its eyes from her. She watched its menacing gaze, back and forth back and forth.  
  
And suddenly it leapt straight at her. Teeth shining, eyes glaring, its hulking body thrown at her. She squeezed her eyes as tightly as she could closed anticipating the crashing pain of several bones being broken.  
When nothing came she thought she was dead. She kept her eyes shut and counted to ten. Still nothing. Slowly she opened her eyes. Her vision was fuzzy then she saw it, the huge wolf jumping. Both her eyes flew open and she let out a piercing scream.  
  
And she screamed. . .and screamed . . . and screamed. And then, she ran out of breath. She gulped in air and was about to scream again when she noticed that she'd been screaming for the last minute and that the wolf should already be tearing her apart. She let her brain think this over and stared blankly in front of her until she noticed that the wolf was still there and so was she. Except. . .she was moving and well, the wolf was there. . .in the air. . .still.  
  
Furrowing her brow she crooked her head to the side in question. Then she realized she didn't have pain any more and that the wolf was kind of er, frozen there three inches from her face.  
  
Taking a breath of air she lifted her hand and poked the wolf directly in the eye. She felt the wetness of its eye and continued to poke it in other various places on it face. "Yeah . . . it's. . .er, its there." She said to herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, or dead.  
  
She got off the ground and dusted herself off. She flexed her hand in front of herself to see that she was ok. "Still here. . ." she walked to the side of the wolf and stared at it. Then, out of no where, she kicked it as hard as she could, putting her whole weight into it.  
  
But when she was supposed to hit the wolfs stomach she hit nothing and succeeded in falling onto the ground again. Rubbing her head she sat up and looked to where the wolf was but now wasn't. Along with the trees that now weren't either. The only thing still 'there' was the ground she sat on.  
  
She looked down and took a fist full of dirt in her hand and when she opened it there was nothing there. When she looked past her hand she saw, blackness. Everything was black.  
Everything was Nothing.  
  
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A/N:  
Ooooh, cliff hanger!!! Kyahahahaha! I know I'm mean, bear with me. Rin sure is having a tough time in 'The Book', eh? What a nasty book, can't get a break in it can you? Well, now Rin is stuck somewhere new. Is she dead? Where is she? Is Sesshoumaru OOC? Will Rin think logically anytime soon? OMG! What's going oooon?!?  
  
::huff huff:: eh heh heh. Gomen bout that. One more chapter to go. ::tear:: I wrote all the last 3 chaps. In one week -whoo! That's good for me. School is dragging me and I'm depressed cuz I got a lousy grade on an exam (Passing-but lousy). I hope this chap. wasn't to confusing. I hope you didn't choke or die on the fluff/waff. And I hope you will R & R. ^_~'  
  
Thanks so much if your still with me! Luv bunches!  
  
PS. This fic might as well be AU ::Sigh:: ~_~;  
  
-Animyth- 


	7. Story Teller Closing the Book

A/N:  
Hai- I've decided to complete the rest of the fic in one week. ::GASP!::. I've said to myself over and over that I should just write the fic, make everyone happy, and stop being a procrastinator, but its been hard. Lol. And after my super-mega-uber-ultra busy life has finally SOME WHAT settled down a bit I can begin writing again. Now all I have to do is remember where I left off. . .heh heh. Hmmm. . .  
  
Incase you need it! ~*~*~* is for things like remembering  
  
* are used for thoughts like *I wonder if we have any doughnuts left. ..*  
  
& - are used for italics such as -stupid-, -annoying- brother. . .  
  
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Story Teller (Tale VI)  
  
Sesshoumaru was pacing in his library for probably the fifth time that day. It had been about two weeks since he had last given Rin the food that was supposed to make her better. Make her come back to him. He'd tried being patient, like Hoken had instructed. Well, he through that out the proverbial window a week into waiting. Now, he was just plain angry.  
  
Rin had stopped taking food yesterday. Naoki and the other workers tried to coax food into her but she simply let it fall from her mouth. The same happened with anything liquid. Sesshoumaru had even attempted and for the first time in his long years failed at something.  
  
First he had actually gotten worried. He may not enjoy humans but he knew that they could not live long with out nourishment. Then, he started getting mad. Then furious. So much so that he was about to go back to Hoken and slice his throat open for deceiving him.  
  
He was contemplating just that when the door slowly slid open. His eyes snapped to the location of the door. "What?" he almost barked but still kept his cool physique. It was Naoki.  
  
She stepped into the room and slid the door closed behind her. Keeping her head bowed she said "Sesshoumaru-sama, there is some one who would like to see you. . ." She opened the door and side stepped out as fast as she could and slid the door swiftly shut.  
  
Sesshoumaru gave a grunt at being interrupter and headed for the from room. He strode quickly down the halls passing workers who stopped dead in their tracks before starting up working again. He made it to the front room when a familiar scent met his keen nose.  
  
Inhaling some of the surrounding air he finally put a name to the aroma. "Yurai. . ."  
  
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A deep, endless pool of inky blackness surrounded Rin. It reminded her of the lake near Sesshoumaru's estate. It made you feel weightless and you can imagine yourself floating peacefully through the sky. Except, now it was like some one had turned off the lights. It was pitch black, like a shadow, all around. She could not tell where one end started or where the other ended. She couldn't feel the ground either.  
  
She flailed her limbs and moved her head but she couldn't even tell if she had even changed positions. Had she moved at all? A cold desolate feeling swept over her making her feel empty and alone. When she opened her mouth to speak no words came out, just a little squeak.* What. . .what's going on? Where am I? I don't like this place. Sesshoumaru! Jaken! Naoki! Yurai! Help me! I need you!!* She sobbed hard and tried to think logically but nothing came. She blanched and just stared.  
  
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"What brings you here, Yurai. . ?" Sesshoumaru asked. Yurai had a welcoming smile on his face when he replied. "I made a promise a few years ago. That I would meet with some one again and give them a present that would show my appreciation for all that they showed me."  
  
Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow. "so ka. . .?" Yurai gave a small languid nod. "It is. And where might be the child from days past? Where is Rin? Does she not stay with you still? I thought her scent came from here. . ." Yurai wondered off into his own little world while Sesshoumaru looked on rather annoyed.  
  
"Yes, Rin is here. But I can not permit you to see her." He said gruffly. "And why is that?" Yurai questioned, becoming serious. "She had fallen ill." Came his reply. Yurai glared at Sesshoumaru slightly and Sesshoumaru right back at him. There was enough friction in the air to make socks stick together.  
  
Yurai looked away and coughed into his fisted hand. "Then at least allow me to bring her, her present?" Sesshoumaru looked at him stoically, thinking. He nodded and made a notion to Yurai to follow him.  
  
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Sesshoumaru led Yurai through twists and turns in the halls and long narrow passages before coming up to a pair of large double-sliding doors. Sesshoumaru nodded his head in the direction of the door and Yurai slid it open. "I'll wait here. . ." Sesshoumaru said and took position to the left of the doors.  
  
Yurai walked into the large room cautiously. It smelled of sickness and sakura. An odd combination. He shut the door behind him slowly until he heard it click and then conveyed the room. A long window, a table, a dresser, ahh. . .the bed. He walked over to the pastel yellow bed and looked down at its occupant.  
  
Rin lay still, the only thing moving was her little heaving chest. Her forehead was beaded with sweat. He noticed a table out of the corned of his eye which had a towel and a basin on it. He picked up the towel and dabbed at Rin's head and cheeks lightly.  
  
*Has she always been this pale?. . .No.* "Yes, Rin is most definitely sick" he said sorrowfully.  
  
Outside the door Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes after hearing Yurai's open comment.  
  
Back in the room Yurai had taken a seat on the soft bed. He snaked his hand into his kimono sleeve and pulled out a long, slender wooden box. It had intricate carvings all over the lid. Little leaves and swirling vines made their way from one end to the other.  
  
The box itself was very pretty but what it held inside was beautiful. He pulled off the lid gently and uncovered a forest green velvet lined interior that hosted a lengthy and shiny golden lute. The lute also had carvings on it but they seemed more beautiful mastered in the soft gold that glimmered even in the most pale of lights.  
  
He smiled when he remembered who had given it to him. An ancient Youkai by the name of Ho. . . Hoken. That's it. An ancient Youkai named Hoken had given it to him when he was traveling through the strangest of woods.  
  
*~* He remembered how he was just walking through them when a rustle of leaves had caught his attention and when he turned around to look Hoken was standing there with a warm smile. Hoken had said to him, "The little girl you know needs this now. You have a promise to keep after all. Go to her and play this for her."  
  
Hoken had taught him how to play the instrument well enough. Though, Yurai still hadn't found out how Hoken had known he knew Rin. It was very strange, all of it.  
  
Over the day or two he spent with Hoken he had gotten to know the old Youkai well enough. He seemed like a very nice person and very generous. They had become fast friends and Yurai said he would come back to see Hoken again after he played for Rin and gave her his present. *~*  
  
The warm memories brought a hint of a smile to Yurai's lips before he wet them with a flick of his tongue and brought the golden instrument to them.  
  
He blew so gently it was unheard. And the single most beautiful note streamed from the lute like flowing honey. It was followed by equally rhythmically illustrious notes. The song flowing up and down like a soft and smooth lullaby a mother might sing to her new born.  
  
The beat speeding up the suddenly slowing down over and over again. He played masterfully. His long agile fingers swept over the instrument hiding and revealing the holes that created the notes.  
  
The song continued.  
  
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Rin shook her head to get out off her daze. How long had she been staring at nothingness? She couldn't remember when she had started or what she was thinking about. The darkness frightened her. The endlessness of it scared her as well. *Maybe if I just stare it will go away.* That's what she had thought. It didn't work very well though.  
  
How long had she been here? It felt like forever. She recalled the village and the wolves. The silent village, the endless path, the savage shadow wolves. They were both horrible in their own ways. And now, now she was stuck in the dark, in more ways then one.  
  
She missed everyone so strongly she thought he heart would tear to shreds. She sobbed and wept and when she stopped she was still there. When she closed her eyes she found she couldn't go to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking of everything that happened.  
  
*Why. . .?* A tear leaked from the corner of her eye and made a shiny path down her curved cheek. *I don't like this. I don't like this!* It was so quiet, agonizingly quiet. It almost left a ringing in her ears.  
  
She attempted to think of another plan. *What. . .what?* Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she put her two fore fingers to her temples. *Maybe if I concentrate really hard some one might hear. No. . . well, I suppose its worth a try.*  
  
Rin got into a sitting position, it was hard since she was basically floating. She closed her eyes and her eyebrows nit in concentration. She waited and thought. Thought and waited. For minutes on end. She took a deep breath to get her nerve up again and tried harder. *Come on, come on! Some one! Any one!*  
  
And then, she thought she heard something. Yes! There is was again! She had never heard this sound before but it was absolutely wonderful! It sounded so pretty.  
  
She listened hard and waited. There! Far off in the distance she heard the notes. Long breezy notes. It sounded so peaceful and loving. Her heart began to beat faster as her hope was renewed. Perhaps some one heard her!  
  
The music kept getting louder and louder. Slowly she could almost hear it perfectly, like the player was right before her. "Its like. . .a lullaby. . .".  
  
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Yurai removed the golden lute from his mouth and placed it in his lap. He sighed and looked over to Rin. *She's still asleep but her breathing seems to have calmed.* This made him smile, in hope that his young friend would be alright.  
  
He got up from the bed, lute in hand, and strode over to the window. He could not sense Sesshoumaru's presence any longer outside the door and guessed that he must have left. Yurai gazed through the window at the clear blue sky, it was so endless.  
  
He thought he would play one more tune before he would leave dear Rin with her present. "I'll come back when she is better and teach her these songs." This made his chuckle when he remembered all the things Rin had managed to teach him with out ever knowing.  
  
He brought the lute up once again. The early sun shone on it and made it sparkle brilliantly. He closed his eyes and let his soul pour into it.  
  
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All Rin saw was colors. Lots of colors flying past her. She felt like a really long rope was tied around her middle and was dragging her extremely fast, to where ever it was taking her. And all around her she just saw streaks of colors, like passing objects.  
  
She was flying, soaring through this place. She didn't care how fast she was going, she was just happy to be out of the shadows and into the color.  
  
She was going so fast that when all of a sudden she came to a complete holt, like the rope suddenly ended, and it felt like all her organs were catching up with her.  
  
He stomach grumbled abruptly telling her she was way past hungry. And the worst head ache she could have ever imagined was attacking her skull. She was so thirsty she thought her tongue would turn to sand in her mouth.  
  
She squeezed her eyes shut and told her body to stop. And then, when she opened her eyes again, she was looking at a familiar ceiling and she felt herself in a familiar bed.  
  
Her breathing became quick with excitement and her heart pumped so fast she thought it would explode from joy. Hey eyes teared up and the next thing she knew she let out the loudest shrillest scream of happiness on the face of the planet.  
  
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The whole house shook as the scream was let loose from her powerful lungs. All the workers dropped what they were doing, Jaken halted and looked in all directions, Naoki gave a huge smile an started crying, Sesshoumaru was running down the hall like a man with his pants on fire, and Yurai jumped from fright and grabbed at his chest over his heart and was breathing rather hard.  
  
All of a sudden the door flew open (literally), flying off its track and landing in the hall way some where. Sesshoumaru, eyes searching frantically around the room, had his arm out to where the door -used- to be.  
  
Rin stopped screaming and blinked confusedly at Sesshoumaru. Was she really seeing this? Was Yurai really here, playing that wonderful music in her room? Was that really Sesshoumaru who was looking shocked at her?  
  
Before she could register anything she was swept into the arms of one powerful and handsome Youkai with silver hair. He squeezed her tiny frame to him with one hand on her head and one arm around her back. Rin slowly, unsure of what to do, brought her arms up around her protector. She felt herself wrap her arms around him and when she knew he was real she hugged him as hard as she could.  
Tears streamed down her face from happiness. She was home! She was home! She smiled so wide her face hurt and wiped at her eyes while still hugging Sesshoumaru.  
  
Sesshoumaru pulled away and put her at arms length. He looked her over and for the first time in her whole life, saw a genuine smile come to his face. Not his evil smile, a smirk, or a little thing. A real Sesshoumaru full blown (well, as full as full blown for him is) smile that reached from one side to the other.  
  
She turned from this amazing sight when she noticed a few people standing at the. . .at what was left of the door. Naoki and Jaken walked into the room baring smiles of their own. "Rin. . ." Naoki whispered and rushed forward. Sesshoumaru moved out of the way before he got killed by that girl and decided to stand by Yurai.  
  
"Rin! Your ok! Your back!" Naoki hugged Rin so tight Rin gave out a squeak and Naoki backed off apologizing. Jaken came up next and patted her on the head. Rin was going to have this and tugged him into a small little hug. He sighed and went to stand by the door.  
  
Yurai made himself known by walking in front of her. "Ohayo, little one. . ." He said and knelt to hug her. It was firm, loving hug of their old friendship. He got back up and put a box on her lap then stepped back. She wiped at her eyes with the blanket. She lifted the lid to the box and saw a pretty gold instrument she'd never seen.  
  
"Thank you." She said softly. You'd probably have to be a Youkai to hear her. She smiled, which made every one else smile. All her loved ones were here with her now. All the ones she had missed so horribly, the ones she had wished were by her sides when she was in those horrible places. They all looked on to her with loving faces, even Sesshoumaru.  
  
When she saw this that when she heard a voice in her head, a small soothing voice of a man, he said 'Welcome back, child."  
  
And she replied with, "I'm home".  
*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~OWARI~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
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Little Dictionary:  
  
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A/N:  
Oh wow, I wasn't planing on ending it in this chapter. I guess I just thought now was good time for a good ending. I got off my procrastinating bum and did this fic for the people! I worked and worked on this fic and I'm relatively glad on the way it turned out. I hope every one liked it as well. I really hope I lived up to what every one thought of me. I mean, on my last story lots of ppl made me sound like a really good writer and I wasn't to sure if I was. All reviews will be gladly accepted, even flames, unless they have a bunch of cussing and not point to them. It you liked my fic please let me know- I would like to know if I just wasted my time writing it - lol ^_~;  
  
Thanx to everyone who reviewed, I guess even to the people who didn't but just read it all the way through.  
  
My plot was kind of messy and I did this fic on side characters (WAY side characters) so I tried not to make them to OOC. I think I made Fluffy OOC in some spots. Sorry bout that. At least, if you didn't know the Japanese words you now know some Japanese! Right?. . .right???  
  
Ha ha ha! My friends and myself are going to write some joint Fics so if you want to check them out I guess you could e~mail me ^_^  
  
Oh yeah, how bout I ask you a Q. What did you think of the ending? Not to sappy or any thing right? I really want to know. This chapter was interesting to write.  
  
I hope I didn't make the fic to morbid-ish. Heh, I tried. OMG! I wrote 9 pages in and hour an a half!!! ::Faints:: Man I'm good! - lol I guess I'll try my hand at a romance or something. . .*Hmmm. . .Perhaps a Shonen-ai? Kyahahaahahaha!!!!* Oh kami! What have I becooooommmeee!!!?!??!  
  
See ya next time my lovely Reviewers. Until then!  
  
With much love,  
  
-Animyth- 


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